The Spirit Elf
by Alasse Celebrindal
Summary: A girl with a dark past is brought to Middle Earth. Can she learn to trust her heart? {PG for language and sometimes 'suggestive' comments}
1. Chapter One

The Spirit Elf  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ The sun shone through the window of the room, falling on the girl that lay sleeping on the bed. All at once, she smiled. She was home. * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
The girl's eyes opened slowly, then widened suddenly as she took in her surroundings. The room was completely different from that which she had fallen asleep in. None of her posessions were here, nothing at all to remember them by. Her family. *Maybe it's just as well. Maybe here I can forget.* Her face contorted at the thought of those who she had left behind. At least one she would not miss at all, not after what he had done... The others, her grandfather, her aunts and uncles, her sister and her best friend... They would be missed.  
  
"~Welcome to Imladris, Jessie. I am Lord Elrond. We here have been long awaiting your arrival.~" She whirled around to see a man standing beside the bed. He glanced at her face and saw her expression of shock. "~We believe we know why and how you arrived here, but we shall wait until you are ready to hear it. The clothes you were wearing, should you wish for them, are over there, and there are several dresses in the wardrobe should you wish them. My daughter Arwen will be in soon to help you and show you around Imladris.~" She blinked, and said,  
  
"~How is it that I can understand you when... I have never heard the language before...?~" The way she looked when realising that she not only could understand it, but speak it as well, was a mixture of shock and hesitation. The Elf Lord smiled.  
  
"~It is because you are now Elven kind, I will explain it all later. Now the time is not correct, the knowledge would only serve to confuse you more.~"  
  
"~Could you at least explain what you mean? From what I can remember, Elves are two feet tall and wear red and green.~" He laughed and walked over to the mirror.  
  
"~Come here child. Look at yourself, see if there is anything different.~" She got out of bed, looked in the mirror and gasped. She did look different. Her hair was the same, just at her waist, red-gold but it was straighter. Her eyes were still that same shade of violet blue, purple but at the same time quite a bit of blue. Her features seemed more delicate, and when she saw her ears, she gasped again. Where once they had had the rounded tip of mortal kind, they now had pointed tips. She was startled out of her observations by a knock at the door. Turning to find Lord Elrond gone, she called,  
  
"~Come in.~" It was another Elf, this time female. She had long black hair and grey-blue eyes.  
  
"~Good morn, I hope my atar{Father} did not worry you too much. I am Arwen Undomiel of Imladris, how are you?~"  
  
"~I'm fine, just in a bit of shock. My name is Jessica, also known as Jessie, I'm guessing you already know how I got here, even though I don't.~" Arwen laughed.  
  
"~Of course not! Atar would not tell me a thing about you except that you are an Elf from very far away!~" Jessie raised an eyebrow.  
  
"~Oh am I now? As far as I knew before, Elves were two feet tall and wore bright red and green. I can't really remember much else...~" *Yeah right... But there's no way I'm telling anybody here...* Arwen had been looking in the wardrobe and now she held a dress out to Jessie.  
  
"~Go put this on and we will go meet my brothers. They wanted to meet you very badly, it was they and their friend Glorfindel who found you in the wood, you know.~"  
  
"~A dress? Do I really have to wear it?~"  
  
"~Yes.~" Jessie threw a mock glare towards Arwen, took the dress and went behind a screen put in a corner of the room. A moment later, she came out wearing the Elven dress. It was green, which set of her golden red hair well, and it went down to her feet. The sleeves fit well around the shoulders and flared out around the wrists. Arwen grabbed her hand.  
  
"~You can wear your shoes if you want, they go well with that dress. Come, you shall meet my brothers.~" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N : I decided to change the story a bit. I didn't really like the way it was going, but it's not going to change a whole lot. Expect quite a bit more detail though. And I'm back at school now!!! Grade seven is SO cool:D Believe it or not, I might actually like it this year. Reference for dialogue, etc.:between *these* are thoughts, between "these" is English/Westron, between "~these~" is Elvish, and between "*these*" is thought-speak (think Galadriel).  
  
Random thought: My spell checker is going crazy. It somehow managed to change "Sauron" to "serene". Crazy, I tell you!! 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: The Message  
  
The guard at the gates of Mirkwood's capital city strained his ears to pick up the sound of hooves that was approaching. The sound grew steadily louder until the horse and rider entered the clearing.  
  
"~Who goes there?~" The rider dismounted. His face and much of his body was hidden by the cloak that he wore over his clothes, but from what the guard could see, his clothes were in the style of the Elves of Imladris, therefore clearly stating where he was from or at least where he had been previously.  
  
"~I carry news that is meant for the ears of the King only. And yes, to answer your question, I hail from Imladris.~" The guard almost let his mouth hang open. He had not said that about his clothes aloud, had he? The rider shifted impatiently. "~I must see the king! I carry important news from Lord Elrond Peredhil that cannot be delayed!~" The guard cleared his throat.  
  
"~I am afraid that cannot happen, my lord. There was recently an attack on King Thranduil and all visitors are asked to submit to a search before they are granted an audience.~"  
  
"~So search me! And make it fast, this cannot wait!~"  
  
"~Right this way my lord.~" Unseen by the guard the rider smiled.~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"~Prince Legolas, an Elf-lord from Imladris to see your father. He says it is important.~" Legolas turned from the window and looked at the stranger. He shifted as the prince took in his appearance, and the cloak he wore opened a bit and the gleam of metal was seen for an instant.  
  
"~Since when do riders from Imladris come cloaked so their faces remain unseen?~"  
  
"~Since I carry information that would be valuable to enemies. I believe the word is 'camouflage', your highness.~"  
  
"~And of course you realize that you will have to be searched? If you would be so kind as to remove your cloak and your weapons...~" The stranger coughed lightly and unclasped his cloak and pulled it away from his face, revealing, not an Elf-lord, but an Elf maiden with long red hair and violet eyes. As she looked up her eyes locked with those of the Prince. Both felt something inside them stirring, a strange feeling of completion. The guard merely stared. The prince blinked a few times, breaking the gaze of those eyes and said,  
  
"~Let me rephrase my earlier question: Since when are riders from Imladris female? Now the cloak is understandable.~"  
  
"~And I would tell you that I carry important news and that my business is my own, be you a prince or no. But surely you know of me? Lord Elrond has told me that both Mirkwood and Lorien were informed of my arrival. You have heard the legend of the spirit-elf, have you not?~"  
  
"~You are she? But why have you risked the perils of Mirkwood forest, my lady? It is not safe for one such as you to travel alone in lands such as these!~" It was the guard who spoke now. He received a glare from the Prince and a half smile from the maiden.  
  
"~I am quite sure the lady has been trained in the arts of weaponry. I sincerely doubt that Lord Elrond would have let her come alone otherwise.~" At that moment the door opened and the king himself came out.  
  
"~What is all this- Nienna! When did you arrive?~"  
  
"~Only a few moments ago, your highness. I regret not having attended the summer festival as I promised on my last visit, but I was caught up in other things. Some of which have something to do with my visit now.~"  
  
"~Very well, come in. Legolas, you may come as well. Unless you do not wish for him to come?~" This last part was directed at Nienna. She glanced at Legolas and replied,  
  
"~No, he should come. Is there any way to make sure that no one will hear?~"  
  
"~Every precaution has been taken into perspective. My study is absolutely safe. There is no way anyone could listen in without being seen by the guard or by us.~" She nodded, satisfied. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting in Thranduil's study. Nienna was sitting across from Thranduil, who was behind his desk, and beside Legolas. She glanced again at the door, uneasy, and began.  
  
"~You do, of course, know of the One Ring?~" She paused, waiting for them to nod. She sighed. "~There is no easy way to put this. It seems that the One Ring has been uncovered, found after all these years. My father, Lord Elrond, has called a meeting of the peoples of Middle Earth to decide what is to be done. Messengers have been sent to Gondor and the Lonely Mountain as well as here.~" Both King and Prince looked stunned. Thranduil was the first to come to his senses.  
  
"~When was it found? Where is it now?~"  
  
"~I am quite sure you remember the incident almost eight decades ago? When Dwarves were found in the forest, and they escaped seemingly impossibly, and then the Battle of Five Armies?~" Once again she paused to let him nod. "~Did you ever find out how the Dwarves escaped?~" This time the King shook his head, still staring at her. "~There was a Halfling, Bilbo Baggins, among them, and he had something, a ring that could make him invisible if he put it on. He had found it in a cave, days before the Dwarves were captured. That ring was the One. It has lain in hiding in the Shire for almost eighty years, and has now been discovered.~" The silence was unbelievably strong.  
  
"~But how is this possible? Surely Sauron would have found it by now?~" Legolas' voice broke the silence. Nienna shook her head.  
  
"~He is aware of it, but has no knowledge of it's location. The Nine were sent out, they were at the Shire and Frodo, the current bearer of the Ring, was stabbed by a Morgul blade on his way to Imladris. My father and sister healed him.~" The king broke in then.  
  
"~Unfortunately, I cannot leave the kingdom, but perhaps Legolas would go to the Council in my stead. I would trust no one else.~" He nodded to Nienna and the Prince. "~You two may leave now. I will send a message to Lord Elrond informing him of your arrival, Nienna, and that Legolas will be going. Legolas, if you would show Nienna to a room, and escort her to dinner tonight?~"  
  
"~Of course father.~" Nienna stood and bowed, then left following the Prince.~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Later that afternoon, Nienna was at the archery fields. Legolas had taken her to the armoury, showing no surprise at her request to practice. The bow she had now was dark brown, close to as tall as she was and had the Crest of Mirkwood on the leather grip. Barely concentrating, she drew an arrow and shot. It hit the center of the target. She sighed. Seeing Legolas might not have been the best thing. It would have happened eventually, she would have had to think of it soon anyway, but she wished she had had time to be more prepared.~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
*Flashback dream sequence*  
  
~The screech of tires skidding across the pavement woke her, just in time to see the car go over.~  
  
~ "I'm sorry. They're gone. There was nothing we could do.'~  
  
~Music, his favorite song. "It's getting dark, too dark to see. Feel like I'm knockin on Heaven's door. Knock knock knockin on Heaven's door, knock knock knockin on Heavens door..."~  
  
~The two girls clung to each other, crying as the three coffins were lowered. The older girl was trying hard to comfort her younger sister.~  
  
~ "I NEVER liked you. You and your mind tricks and all that creepy stuff. And being the smartest in the class, that was the only reason I even pretended. Couldn't you have at least noticed I was with Kim?" ~  
  
~ "I hate him, I hate him! Why now?" She was crying now, not as hard as earlier but crying. "Today he had to do that. I hate him!"~  
  
~His face, so much like Legolas'. The same blue eyes, the same blond hair but shorter. The difference lay in their expressions. He never actually smiled, and when he did, his eyes were still cold, cold as ice.~  
  
~ "~The Spirit Elves are special creatures. The story is this: When an Elf is killed or dies of a broken heart, the only way one can die, their spirits are brought to the Halls of Mandos. Now, the legend says that once, a long time ago, two Elven spirits were given the chance of another life. They were taken to another world, and were joined onto the bodies of newborns of that world. The children, when they grew up, were destined to meet and fall in love. Their first child was a full-blooded Elf, but it's senses were dulled and it's ears hidden while it resided on that earth. On it's fifteenth birthday, it was transported to the land of it's parents. You are that child Jessie~" ~  
  
~ "~I give you the name Nienna, after she of the Valier.~" Many wondered at his wisdom at this. Why give the girl the name of the Valier of sadness and grief? But if he had his reasons for naming his foster daughter so, so be it.~  
  
*End*  
  
Nienna woke with a start. The sky was still mostly midnight blue, but tinged with pink in the East. She shivered. Those dreams again. She hadn't had them for almost two hundred years now. Why did they come back now? And why did she feel so strange?~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
A/N: And, chapter two re-written and done. The song mentioned in there is Avril Lavigne's version of Bob Dylan's 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' for those of you that don't know. Story not making sense? It will. Believe me. The bunch of flashbacks are sort of a clue to Nienna's former life, and her naming and the legend concerning her, and no names are to be mentioned just yet. Review people, I need to know who's reading! 


	3. Chapter Three

The Spirit Elf- chapter three 

After a few days' hard riding, the group from Mirkwood reached Imladris.  It comprised of Legolas, three male elves that Thranduil had sent, and Nienna, who had been allowed to go only because, as she said, she had made the journey before- and alone.

The Council was held a few days later.

"Newcomers, travelers, friends of old, we are gathered today to come to a decision about something important, so much so that one wrong step could mean the fate of Middle-Earth.

"You all know of what I speak. The One Ring, the Ring of Power, Isildur's Bane. Bring forth the Ring, Frodo.~" The small halfling sitting between Lord Elrond and the wizard Gandalf stood slowly, walked to the  pedestal that stood before Elrond and took a ring from his pocket, placing it on the pedestal. It was small, small enough to fit the hand of a halfling, and looked to be made of pure gold. It was unmarked, seemed hardly dangerous enough to be of worry. But such was the power of the Ring.

"There you have it, the One Ring.  It has been hidden from Sauron for a long time, but he now knows of it's presence once more." 

"It is a gift, a gift to the people of Gondor! Let us use this ring against Sauron, so that we may defeat him! If this is his weapon, let us turn it against him!"  It was the man from Gondor who spoke, Boromir, son of Denethor Steward of Gondor. The man sitting beside him answered,

"We cannot wield it. Sauron is it's maker, no one else has the power to control it."

"And what would a mere Ranger know of this? For that is what you are, no more than that." Legolas, across the room, jumped to his feet. 

"This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Boromir looked at the Elf, then back at Aragorn.

"This, is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor."

"Gondor has no king, Gondor needs no king." With a last contemptuous glance at Aragorn, he took his seat again.

"Aragorn is right, we cannot use it." Gandalf spoke from his seat beside Frodo.

"Then let us destroy it!" Before anyone could stop him, the Dwarf who had spoken left his seat, ran at the Ring with his axe upraised and brought it down hard on the Ring. It seemed to those watching that there had been a small earthquake, but it was not the Ring that had been harmed. The Dwarf lay on his back on the ground, his axe in pieces.

"This power cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess."

"Well then what is the use of bringing us here to destroy it if it can't be destroy?"

"It must be brought to the dread place, in the fires of Mount Doom it was made, only there can it be unmade."

"You are mad!" It was Boromir again. "I live in the city of Minas Tirith, I watch the lands of Mordor. The ground is barren wasteland, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this, it is folly."

"No, not with ten thousand, Lord Boromir." He and the others at the Council looked to see who had spoken. It was an Elf maiden, she had red gold hair that reached halfway down her back and startling violet eyes. "Not with ten thousand, for Sauron would surely see what it was that you were trying to do, and gather a suitable defense. But a small number, ten, nine even, could slip past into Mordor unnoticed."

"That, friend Gimli, is how we shall destroy it. We shall today form a Fellowship, to travel to Mordor with the Ring Bearer and help him along the way."

"Who shall take the Ring?" This was from Legolas.  Gimli jumped up, enraged.

"I suppose you think you're the one to do it! I will never see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" At that, the Elves began yelling at the Dwarves, the Dwarves yelled at the Elves, the Men yelled at no one in particular and Gandalf yelled at everybody. The only ones silent were Frodo, Nienna and Elrond.  Suddenly, a new voice joined in the fight, but to end it.

"I will take it! I will take the Ring to Mordor!" Everyone stopped yelling and turned to stare at Frodo, who had spoken. "Though… Though I do not know the way…" Gandalf stepped forward.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear." Aragorn came as well.

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."

"And my bow." Legolas joined the group. 

"And MY axe." As Gimli came Nienna glanced at Legolas and almost laughed at his expression of disgust, but managed to keep a straight face.

"If it is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done." Boromir bowed to Nienna as he passed.

"So be it. You shall be the-" Elrond was cut off suddenly.

"Oy! Mr. Frodo ain't goin' nowhere without me." The short figure of Sam jumped out from behind the bushes and stood next to Frodo.

"Indeed, it is certainly hard to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not." It seemed almost as if the Elf Lord were amused. 

"Hey! We're coming too!!!" Merry and Pippin jumped out from behind two pillars and ran up. "You'd have to tie us up and put us in a sack to stop us from coming!"

"And besides, you need people of intelligence on this type of mission… quest… THING!!!" Pippin looked quite proud of himself until Merry whispered, 

"Well, that rules you out Pip!" Nienna smiled and knelt in front of Frodo.

"You have everybody you need Frodo, but when you need aid I will be there." Turning to Elrond she said, 

"~I leave for Lothlorien tonight, after the feast.~"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

And there we have it, the third chapter of The Spirit Elf. Reviews please, can't be that hard to find the button, ok?


	4. Chapter Four

The Spirit Elf- Chapter Four  
  
A/N: Between "these" are Westron/English, "~these~" are Elvish, *these* are thoughts and "*these*" are thought-speak (like Galadriel)  
  
As she stood a few meters above the exit of Moria, Nienna stared at the rocks, lost in thought. Whatever she was thinking was suddenly broken by the Fellowship's exit from the mines. Sighing, she jumped down behind Legolas as the Halflings collapsed, crying. She could see why; Gandalf was no longer with them. Legolas turned at the almost silent sound of her landing.  
  
"~Nienna! What are you doing here?~" At his outburst, everyone turned to look. She mets their stares evenly.  
  
"We should hurry. The Orcs are not so mindless that they will not follow you." She glanced at Aragorn, then lifted one hand to her mouth and whistled loudly A beautiful brown horse came cantering out from behind a rock. She lifted her hand to his neck.  
  
"This is Shade. He will carry three of the Small Folk; the other two will be carried."  
  
"Forgive me, my Lady, but you have counted wrongly. There are four Hobbits, not five." She turned to Gimli and bowed.  
  
"Nay, Lord Gimli, forgive me. It is a silly habit of the Elves to refer to any race smaller in stature than our own as 'Small folk'. I had counted you in my reckoning."  
  
"No offense taken, Lady Elf. You are certainly more courtious than the blonde pointy-ear over there. I will ride with two of the Hobbits."  
  
"Thank you Lord Gimli. Frodo, Sam, you will ride as well. I can take Pippin-"  
  
"And I will take Merry." Broke in Legolas. In Elvish, he added, "~That Dwarf makes me want to shoot myself and get rid of him for once.~" Nienna laughed quietly.  
  
"Come, friends, let us hurry. Lord Boromir, if you could please lead Shade. But one word of caution, do not try to lead him farther away from me than he wishes to be or he will never trust you again." With those last words the group set off for the woods of Lorien.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A few hours later found the group almost at the borders. Legolas glanced over at Nienna, to find that she was talking with Pippin. Merry was asleep; so he listened to Pippin and Nienna.  
  
"I wish now that I hadn't come. All I do is get in trouble and be a nuisance to everyone, even when I don't try."  
  
"How have you been in trouble?"  
  
"Well, on Caradhras, me and Merry threw snowballs at Legolas, 'cause he was walking on top of the snow and we figured it wasn't fair. Of course, he turned around just as I was making another one. He didn't even take notice of Merry, and he took me to Gandalf and I got yelled at."  
  
"Oh, so the Prince got you in trouble did he?" She glanced over at Legolas and winked at him. "Well then, I'll just have to get my Grandmother to give him a lecture on being unkind to Hobbits."  
  
"But he's a Prince. You'd have to be a queen or something to lecture him."  
  
"My Grandmother is the Lady Galadriel, she rules Lothlorien, where we are going. She can put the prince in his place, believe me." Not being able to take it anymore, Legolas joined in.  
  
"No, no! Please don't tell her! Last time she lectured me she said if I got in any more trouble she would spank me and send me home without any lembas!" Pippin laughed, as was Legolas' intent, and Nienna just raised an eyebrow at him. Then she noticed that they were at the trees.  
  
"We are safe now. Lord Gimli, Frodo, Sam, I need to send Shade ahead. Do you mind walking for a bit?" They shook their heads and were helped down. Nienna whispered something in Shade's ear and he cantered off into the Wood. The group began walking farther into the trees as Gimli began talking.  
  
"They say that an Elf-witch of terrible power lives in these woods. Stay close, young Hobbits, and you will have protection. I myself have the eyes of a hawk and ears of a fox-" He was cut off by an arrow suddenly aimed at his face. Wood-Elves were surrounding the group. One of them, obviously their leader, said,  
  
"Your Dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark."  
  
"Enough Haldir. They are friends, lower your arrows!" Nienna looked at Haldir. "We need to get to the Lady Galadriel, you have already seen Shade I take it?"  
  
"Yes, my Lady, we saw him heading toward the city. It still amazes me that the animal learned how to take directions as complex as 'find the Lady Galadriel'"  
  
"If you are implying that my horse is stupid and that I am not capable of training properly, I suggest you be quiet unless you want an arrow in your face. You taught me how to shoot, so you know how good my aim is." After that remark, she turned serious. "We need to get to Grandmother. Will you guide us?"  
  
"Of course. The Dwarf will have to be blindfolded however, no Dwarf has seen the way into the city for many a century." Gimli looked about to burst when Nienna cut in.  
  
"He most certainly will not be blindfolded. Lord Gimli is a free spirit, like the rest of us, and you know quite well that the Lady Galadriel wants peace with the Dwarves before she leaves Middle Earth." If it had only been the two Elves, Haldir would have made a face at her. But as it was, with his brothers as well as the Fellowship watching, he didn't.  
  
"Very well, follow me."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"Your quest stands on the edge of a knife... stray but a little and you will fall..." Nienna glanced at Boromir and Frodo. They both had the look in their eyes that people got when her Grandmother was 'thought- speaking' to them, but Boromir looked frightened, while Frodo was concentrating on what she had to say. "All of you now, go and rest. Aragorn, Frodo, Gimli and Legolas, could you come back here once you have settled in? Nienna, please bring them to where they will be staying, and then bring those four back afterwards. It is time to bring in to reality what we have discussed." Nienna nodded and smiled to the Halflings.  
  
"Come, follow me, you will be able to eat when we get there." The Halflings, with Frodo just a little less eager than the others, immediately raced after her. She laughed when Merry and Pippin started fighting over which one would get to hold her hand. "You two! Stop, or we will never get there!"  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
When the Fellowship had finished eating, they were all sitting next to one of the trees. Pippin suddenly asked,  
  
"What are they singing?" Nienna was quite obviously lost in thought and Aragorn didn't answer, so Legolas looked at Pippin and said,  
  
"It is a lament to Gandalf. What they say of him I have not the heart to tell you, for me the grief is still too near."  
  
"They sing of his falling tonight, and tomorrow they will sing of his life, in celebration that they knew him in life. It is customary in the Elven culture." It was Nienna. Boromir looked at Legolas, then at Nienna.  
  
"How can you speak of it that way?" Boromir sounded on the verge of hysteria. "Not even the Prince could tell us what they were saying, how can you speak about it as if nothing had happened, like you were giving a lesson? Can you feel no pain?" During this tirade, Boromir had risen to his feet. Nienna stood up as well, eyes flashing. Boromir had gone too far.  
  
"No of course I cannot feel pain," she said, her voice very obviously dripping with sarcasm. "Imagine this Boromir. You have a relatively happy life, not many bullies or enemies to speak of, until you are about fourteen years of age. Then you meet a boy a few months older than you, who seems nice, polite, caring, everything you could wish for. Over the next half year, you come to love him, more than anything else.  
  
"Now, ten days before your fifteenth birthday, your parents and little brother are killed in an accident. There was no possible way they could have been saved. A week later, after their funeral, you are at home in your room crying, and the boy you thought you loved comes in, supposedly to comfort you. He tried RAPING you. The only thing that stopped him was that your aunt and sister came to check on you.  
  
"And then, on your fifteenth birthday, you are pulled out of the world you knew into one you had never heard of. You never told anyone what had happened, except for the Lord of Rivendell and his daughter, who befriended you from the start. You spend a century training in weaponry, always getting strange looks from people who didn't know who you were because it was unusual for a Lady of Rivendell to train as much as you did. After the century of training, you are sent out on missions to cities. That was the worst part, the cities of Men in any case. Every time you had to see the Steward of Gondor, the guards would think you were some Elvish whore the Steward had called on. They would wish that they could be the Steward of the City for that night.  
  
"Now tell me, Boromir, that I can feel no pain." She pushed him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards, and called to Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. "Come, the Lady Galadriel wanted to see you." She grinned at the Halflings. "When I get back, I'll take you to the pond for a swim."  
  
She and the four she had called walked off. Boromir was still sitting on the ground, dazed and more than a little confused. The Halflings that had been left glared at him and went over to sit on the roots of the tree.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Nienna turned around to stare back at the four.  
  
"What? Am I not allowed to get angry?"  
  
"That was wonderful, Nienna! I am quite willing to wager that Boromir is so used to women falling at his feet that he is still back at the camp on the ground!" Aragorn had quite the look of respect on his face. Nienna grinned at him and turned to the others.  
  
"So do you three have the same reason or am I just so beautiful that you are looking at me like that?" She teased them. Gimli answered.  
  
"Same reason my lady Nienna. I have never seen a show such as that. Boromir looked quite sorry he had ever insulted you there at the end." Frodo nodded in agreement. Nienna turned to Legolas.  
  
"~I can see why you never told anyone, Nienna.~" She frowned.  
  
"Call me Jessica, all of you. That is my real name. Nienna may suit my life but I would prefer for my friends to call me by my real name." They all nodded and Aragorn wrapped his arms around Jessica in a hug.  
  
"You know you can turn to us if you need to talk or if you need help, Jessica." The others nodded.  
  
"So you'll go shoot Boromir for me?" She said in mock seriousness. They all laughed and started walking again.  
  
When they reached the pavilion, Lady Galadriel was already there. She had a box which she gave to Jessica. She nodded and left Aragorn, Frodo, Gimli and Legolas with the Lady.  
  
"I have called you four here to discuss something very important. You are the representatives of each race in the Fellowship, as well as Jessica."  
  
"But we already have a pointy-... I mean, we already have an Elf. Is she a different kind of Elf?"  
  
"Yes, very different. She is a Spirit-Elf." Gimli gasped,  
  
"She is the prophecied one? The one to lead an army of her kind to the Last Battle?"  
  
"Yes. She, however, has not yet been told of that part. She was only told that the first child would be brought to Middle Earth, the rest Elrond left out for her sake. She needed time to recuperate from the pain she had endured, and still does endure."  
  
"And Boromir did absolutely nothing to help matters, did he?" Asked Legolas, with a hint of sorrow in his voice.  
  
"On the contrary, believe it or not. She needed to be in touch with what had happened for the part of the legend not told to her at the beginning to be absorbed." The Lady smiled slightly. "It was not completely Boromir's fault. He had been wondering about it though, and would have asked eventually, but I sped up his mind a little so he would refresh her memories." Aragorn and Legolas stared at her for a moment, until they heard a voice.  
  
"It's not polite to stare, you two." The four males turned and saw Jessica, looking at them with one eyebrow raised. She was wearing different clothes, in two ways: one, different from what she had been wearing previously, and two, different from anything that had been seen in Middle Earth at all. All her clothes were black; her pants were loose and seemed to have at least four or five pockets; she seemed to have two shirts, one with long sleeves, the other over it with short sleeves. The top shirt had a design of some sort on it. Her shoes were most definetely not from Middle Earth. They had a thick sole made from some sort of flexible material, and the top part looked like leather. They had laces that started a few inches behind the toe and were laced through the leather up to her ankle, at least as far as they could tell: her pants covered that part of the shoes.  
  
"If you are quite finished staring at me, could someone please tell me what is supposed to happen tonight? We should get back soon, I promised the Halflings I'd take them swimming." Galadriel smiled.  
  
"Just a moment. We have two more people to arrive..." At that moment, Haldir came in and bowed.  
  
"Shall I send them in, my Lady?" He said, not looking at Jessica.  
  
"Yes please, tell them to hurry before Jessica here dies of curiosity." Haldir raised an eyebrow at the name but said nothing, he bowed and left.  
  
"Grandmother! Who is it?" Two Elves sneaked in from the door that was behind Jessica. They motioned to the four who were standing to one side to stay quiet, and snuck up behind Jessica who was still trying to make Galadriel tell her. They each put a hand over one of her eyes and said,  
  
"Guess who, Jess?" She froze, then whirled around and screamed, throwing her arms around them.  
  
"Barb, Matt, oh my god I thought I'd never see you again!" Then she hugged the one apparently called Matt and a tear trailed down her cheek. "I thought you were dead, how can you be here?" He hugged her back and said,  
  
"How about you sit down, I have a feeling you're going to love this... Oh and by the way, which one of those four is our new brother in law, hmm? Ten bucks its the blond, 'cause he's the Elf, and besides, the man is too old for you and the other two are too short." She laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder.  
  
"Two things you have to learn: One, you don't ask something like that until you are told. Two, money is not called 'bucks' here, 'buck' refers to a male deer. And another thing, Legolas is older than the other three and myself put together. He's an Elf, you idiot."  
  
The Elf in question was just watching. He thought for a second about what Matt had said, about 'the blond' being his 'new' brother in law, and what Nienna, no, Jessica he told himself, had answered about not asking about things like that until you are told. Did that mean something? Maybe Jessica had felt the same shiver he had felt the day he first saw her, and had felt every time he looked at her since then.  
  
"Hey, Middle Earth to Barbie, we're doing introductions here." It was Jessica's sister, talking to him.  
  
"My name is Legolas, not Barbie. How did you get that idea?"  
  
"'Cause you look like one. Tall, perfect, and major blond. Wish I could get a dye that color... but then my streaks would really look gray..."  
  
"Barbara Deveau, be quiet, act polite for once and don't confuse them. You have to remember, they don't know what Barbies or hair dyes are, so use words that EVERYONE can understand." Barbara made a face at Jessica and performed a mock bow.  
  
"I, ladies and gentlemen, am Barbara Deveau, as my dear sister has just mentioned. I am fifteen years of age and don't be scared by the fact that I have blue in my hair- it's quite common where I come from."  
  
"And I am Matthew Deveau, also called Matt. I'm fifteen as well- Barb here is my twin sister." Jessica hugged Matt again.  
  
"He's my little brother- the one that died in the accident. You have ALOT of explaining to do, young man!"  
  
"I'm only three years younger than you!"  
  
"Actually, by now, it's over three hundred years."  
  
"Meh, too bad, it was only three years in our world!"  
  
"But now we live in Middle Earth, so we are going to use three hundred, whether you like it or not."  
  
"Will you two shut up? I think the Lady has something to explain. Like the fact that-" Barbara was cut off by a reproachful glance from the Lady herself.  
  
"Lady Barbara, if you would please be so kind as to let me explain- I know significantly more about it than you, no offense meant." She turned to Jessica. "As Lord Matthew kindly stated earlier, you may wish to sit down. What I am about to tell all of you will probably have a very big effect on you, whether you 'love' it or not." The group made it's way over to the benches that surrounded the platform. "Now, if I am correct, Lord Elrond explained the legend to you when you first arrived?" Jessica nodded. "Well, for the sake of your mental health at the time of your arrival, thanks to what had happened before, the whole story was not told to you. The first part was completely true, nothing left out. The spirits of Elves were sent to your Earth, and they were joined onto the spirits of human children, and they were paired up and destined to have children together, in fact the pair had been lovers in their Elven lives as well. But that was the only part Elrond did not change.  
  
"There were more than one pair. In the prophecy, it had been said that a great evil would rise, and that a female Spirit-Elf would come from another world to lead an army of her kind against the Evil, along with Men, Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings. All the children from each pair of Elven spirits would be twins, and be brought to Middle Earth on their fifteenth birthdays- except for one, you. You were meant to be the leader, therefore you were born before the others. You were the same in that you were brought on your fifteenth birthday.  
  
"All the other Spirit-Elves are here, in Lorien. They had all appeared in one of the Elven Kingdoms, and all were sent to Imladris after you had left, then here when the last had arrived. You now have over two hundred Elves at your command- all with the same powers you have." Jessica just sat there, staring at the tree across from where she was sitting.  
  
"Two hundred?" Surprised was too weak a word for the expression on her face. Confused as well, it was more a very intense mixture of both.  
  
"More than that, Jess. Matt and me counted before we all left Imladris- there are one hundred fifty sets of twins, each set was a guy and a girl." This news did not seem to help her.  
  
"THREE HUNDRED, then. How in the name of the Valar am I going to manage three HUNDRED fifteen-year-olds? And Mom thought that only ME was bad..."  
  
"You'll be fine, Jess. You know you're good with kids- which they are, compared to you. And they've all heard of you, and heard you- pretty much anybody within a ten mile radius must've heard you yelling at that what's-his-name-there dude that got you mad earlier." Jessica put her head in her hands.  
  
"Great. Now they will all think I'm a head case, as WELL as having a temper problem. How did I get into this, Matt?"  
  
"~They will probably be able to tell quite easily that you are not a 'head case', whatever that is, when they meet you, Lady Jessica. And it most certainly not your fault that Boromir got you angry. Nor was it your fault you got mad at him. You had to let it all out sometime.~" She lifted her head and smiled at Legolas, who felt the now-familiar shiver go down his back.  
  
"~Thank you Legolas.~" She thought for a second, then said, "A head case is someone who is more than a little crazy." In Westron, so everyone could understand.  
  
"Which you are not. Now, is it just me, or did I hear you say something before we came in about swimming? Believe it or not, the Imladris Elves managed somehow to make our whole 'army' bathing suits. Including you, of course. Thank God Arwen still had your measurements, otherwise you might've had to skinny-dip" Jessica made a face at Matt.  
  
"Not in the presence of the Halflings, thank you very much." Catching her siblings' glance, she said quickly, "Or anyone else's! Get those thoughts OUT of your head, NOW!"  
  
"Sure Jess, comme tu ne voulais pas le blond te voir!{Like you wouldn't want the blond to see you!}" In response to that remark, Barbara got a small stone thrown at her.  
  
"If you want to go to the pond, I suggest you be quiet unless you wish to be silenced for good, as in having your tongue cut out."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
Later, at the 'pond' which resembled more a lake, Jessica, Barb, and all four Halflings were in the water. Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Matt had chosen to stay out of the water. Boromir, still looking slightly afraid of Jessica, had opted to stay at the camp. Aragorn, Gimli and Matt were discussing something, and Legolas was watching Jessica. He hadn't really had a chance to talk to her at all, since he'd met her. He wanted to get to know her better. As if reading his mind, she looked up and grinned at him. Even if she hadn't gotten over her earlier shock, she was hiding it quite well.  
  
Legolas was so busy watching Jessica that he didn't notice the others had stopped talking.  
  
"She likes you, you know." It was Matt. Legolas turned to look at him.  
  
"If she didn't, I seriously doubt she would talk to me at all. She has done that before to people, according to Lady Arwen."  
  
"Right, I forgot, 'like' means something different here. I meant, really like. Love, I guess." Legolas raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"And what makes you believe that?"  
  
"The fact that she smiles at you. All the time. And earlier, when you were off changing, she wouldn't stop talking about you." Aragorn broke in.  
  
"It's true Legolas. And you know you love her... I saw you when she met us outside Moria, and at the Council when she showed up. And, remember, you did tell Arwen and I about when you met her. If that isn't love, I don't know what is." Legolas was silent, thinking.  
  
"And by the way, Legolas, as long as you don't try to hurt her, Barb and I are with you for sure. Can I tell you one thing though?" Legolas nodded at him. "I know you heard her yelling about the guy that almost raped her, her ex-boyfriend Chris. From what she told me and Barb earlier, the ONLY reason she's afraid of getting close to you is because of Chris. First of all, she's afraid of getting hurt, by anybody. And especially by you, because Chris looked exactly like you. Shorter hair and colder eyes maybe, but those were the only differences. Just be careful, don't try to go too far too fast, and most of all don't hurt her." One look at Matt's eyes told Legolas he wasn't joking. If he hurt Jessica, Matt and Barb would not hesitate to hurt him back.  
  
"I'm going back to the camp."  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
A/N: Well, there's chapter four. the drama has started! muahaha...  
  
-Alassë Celebrindal 


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